UTSA Discusses Cybersecurity with Government and Business Leaders at Washington, D.C. Meetings

(July 14, 2014) -- UTSA President Ricardo Romo led a contingent of university officials to Washington, D.C., the week of July 13 to discuss critical issues in cybersecurity and UTSA's growing capabilities in cybersecurity and cloud computing.

UTSA has emerged as a national leader in cybersecurity research. Its cybersecurity education and outreach program was recently ranked No. 1 in the nation by security professionals in a Ponemon Institute survey conducted for Hewlett-Packard. UTSA is also recognized by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security as a leader in the field.

The delegation included Mauli Agrawal, vice president for research; Cory Hallam, UTSA chief commercialization officer; Greg White, director of the UTSA Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security; Gerry Sanders, dean of the College of Business; Bob McKinley, associate vice president for economic development; and Paul Rad, director of applied research in cloud computing.

They met with representatives of the Cyber Team of the White House, briefed several members of the Texas Congressional delegation and held discussions with the Department of Commerce, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Homeland Security. The delegation also met with private-sector industry leaders including Dell, Seagate, Halliburton, Exxon Mobil and Hewlett Packard.

"Collaboration between industry, government and higher education is critical to a strong cyberdefense," said Romo. "The work UTSA is doing with our partners is helping to keep the United States at the forefront of research and innovation."

UTSA is at the heart of San Antonio's expanding cybersecurity community, working directly with the military and industry including with the 24th Air Force Cyber Command – the largest cyber command outside of Washington, D.C. -- the National Security Agency, Rackspace, Raytheon, Microsoft and others.

The UTSA Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) was established in 2001 to meet a need for an academic epicenter for cybersecurity education in Texas. The center led the first Dark Screen Cyber Security tabletop exercise in 2002, making San Antonio the first city in the nation to conduct a mock cyberterrorism exercise. UTSA is recognized as a leader in cybersecurity testing, and its experts offer training and preparatory exercises to help organizations across the United States prevent, detect and respond to large-scale cyberattacks.

Researchers at the UTSA Institute for Cyber Security (ICS) have a deep knowledge of cybersecurity models, architectures, mechanisms and protocols, and technologies. The institute built and operates the ICS FlexCloud, one of the first dedicated academic cloud computing research environments focused on studying security challenges surrounding cloud computing.

The institute is also home to the ICS FlexFarm, an Internet-connected environment providing researchers with a dedicated platform to conduct academic research on malware programs and methods for improving malware detection, faster response times to malware infections and effective malware removal techniques with a special focus on botnets.

One of the largest open clouds in academia resides at UTSA and supports advanced computing and data analytics research. The UTSA Open Cloud is one of just two existing clouds in the Open Compute Project and the only certification center in the United States for new Open Cloud Project working designs and hardware.

"UTSA's program brings together experts from science, engineering and business to conduct research and educate the next generation of cyber security professionals in digital forensics, cyber behavior, network defense, access control, security policy, data provenance, cyberenergy and malware detection," said Agrawal.

The three-day trip concluded with a reception hosted by Mexican Ambassador H.E. Eduardo Medina Mora at the Mexican Cultural Institute honoring UTSA for its cybersecurity ranking and its recognition as the National 2014 Small Business Development Center of the Year.

"These meetings illustrate the interest government and industry has in our cyber programs and the research excellence they find at UTSA," Romo said.

Events

MuTe Fest is a celebration of original music and technology. Three days of concerts, sessions, and informative lectures will offer a unique experience of musical works created by fellow UTSA students and the chance to gain valuable knowledge about music technology.
Art Building, Music Tech Lab (Arts 3.01.30B), Main Campus

The conference will showcase the works of authors, illustrators, and scholars which embody Latino culture and art as a means to promote literacy and reading in Latino children.
Durango Building, first floor, Downtown Campus

The theme of this year’s symposium is Black & Brown Futures. The free event will give UTSA students and the community the opportunity to meet and hear national scholars talk about current research and academic trends relevant to the lives of African Americans in the United States.
Student Union, Denman Room (SU 2.01.28), Main Campus

Join the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching for the 14th Annual UTSA Storytelling Festival featuring Nancy Simpson, storyteller and keynote speaker. The event is free and open to the public.
Main Building, Ground Floor Lobby, Main Campus

Students are invited to a semi-formal, dinner banquet with an awards presentation and dancing. Keynote speaker will be San Antonio City Councilman William Cruz Shaw. Tickets must be purchased by Feb 19 at Roadrunner Express. UTSA students are $15 and guests are $20.
H-E-B Student Union Ballroom (HSU 1.104/1.106), Main Campus

Dr. Don Jenkins from UT Health SA will lead this event UTSA with up to 30 certified STB trainers, and train up to 300 UTSA students and personnel in stop the bleed methods.
H-E-B Student Union Ballroom (HSU 1.106), Main Campus

Get to know more about the Bexar County Criminal District Court candidates' stance on the issues before voting in the primary election on March 6.
Buena Vista Street Building, Aula Canaria (BVB 1.328), Downtown Campus

UTSA's Mission

The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.

UTSA's Vision

To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.

UTSA's Core Values

We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.